Category: run

Course test numero uno…


Unfortunately, many people do not consider fun an important item on their daily agenda. For me, that was always high priority in whatever I was doing. ~ Chuck Yeager

Yesterday: nada
Today: Run – Leadville course, ~30 miles
Tomorrow: Bunny cages, COHRS, 3 hours

05:45 – I have been up for about 1/2 hour and am gathering my stuff to head up to the course to run roughly the first 21 miles of the course and then back to Leadville. I’ll be doing some food tests, getting a feel for this portion of the course and seeing how well things are going in general. I’ll provide an update later today.

17:45 – 12 hours later… I am home and showered. The jury is still out on what to think of that effort. The following is a full report:

I arrived in Leadville about 8:15 and, after using the second filthiest restroom in Scotland, donned my gear and started running about 8:30. It was a gorgeous day and already warm when I set out but I brought along some ballast for the hell of it (jacket, cell phone, etc.). Note to self, bring the bare minimum during the race. Let’s just say that my pack was pretty heavy.

I followed the course with relative ease to Turquoise Lake and around to May Queen Campground, the site of the first checkpoint during the race. I arrived a little early, about 2 hours in, giving me a somewhat speedy 10-minute mile pace. I ran the majority of this section and believe that come race day, I’ll want to back off a great deal.

I filled my water bladder at the available faucets, took a brief rest stop, and headed out to hit the Colorado/Continental Divide Trail just outside the May Queen limits. At this point, I wasn’t feeling horrible but definitely wasn’t feeling great. I had been eating fairly well but feel that I actually may have been drinking too much during this first leg. Hard to tell but my stomach had a sloshy feeling that was a little disconcerting.

The Continental Divide Trail gains a fair amount of altitude quickly – deceptively so. By now, I was starting to run/walk cycle and was definitely walking any uphill sections. I have had a recurring issue with muscle pain in my middle back and it was back with a vengeance along with some serious hamstring tightness/soreness in my right leg. I’ll have to ask Shirley about that on Monday.

I finally made it to the Hagerman Pass Road (supposedly a mile but it seemed much longer) and headed west up this gradual climb. Normally, I would run something of this grade but opted for a run/walk mix to the Sugarloaf Pass cutoff. The north side of Sugarloaf (whatever side I was ascending) was actually much more tame than I expected and I made the summit without even realizing it. The back side, however, is another story. This was rough going on the descent and I do not relish the thought of having to climb back up after roughly 80 miles. It is loose, trenched-out and quite steep in spots. I’ll be hitting this at night as well (unless something goes particularly awry). It seems longer than the front side too. Bonus.

I actually still felt okay when I hit the pavement at the bottom of Sugarloaf (~22.5 miles in) and deviated from the course to complete my loop back to Leadville. During the race, I’ll bang a right and run along this road about 1 mile to the Fish Hatchery aid station. Today, I went left to complete the loop around the lake. This is where I started feeling quite poorly.

It was definitely warm and running on pavement is neither my forte or my preference but I suddenly felt like hell. I kept up my run/walk cycles, tried to choke down food and liquids and keep moving. the 1.3 miles back past the golf course felt like an eternity and the .8 back north to rejoin the race course was worse. My back was killing me, I was having problems running. Not so good.

I rejoined the course at about the 4.5-mile mark and headed east. I was just trying to keep up the run/walk action but found myself stopping from time to time to try to stretch out my back. My hamstring was feeling a bit better at this point but I was still unable to sustain any semblance of a run as I headed back up the Boulevard and back to Leadville. I had hoped to be able to run the last mile back to my car but only managed to run about half of this section and made it back to the car in just under 6 hours and ~29.1 miles. Hmmm.

So my goals have not really changed: Primary – finish in under 30 hours, secondary – sub 27, tertiary – sub 24. I managed roughly a 12-minute pace for today but am a little concerned about how to keep this up for about 3.5 times the amount of mileage. Given, I don’t really have to but based on how I felt today, I am not encouraged. I think I’ll be fine, just a little troublesome.

They say there is no such thing as a bad run and even given today’s trials and tribulations, I have to agree. I got out for 6 hours, familiarized myself with the course, got up to altitude, experimented with food and whatnot and learned some more about pacing and how my bod reacts to this type of pressure. Good times.

I took a couple of shots during the run which I will try to post later. (View the full album here.) Right now, I am going to put my feet up for a bit and relax.

See you out there.

~stubert

Thursday (I think)…

Your prayers stink. ~ Michael Roach

Yesterday: Night Run – The Beav, 1 hour
Today: Hike, Coyote Trail, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Ride, Casa del Critters, 1.5 hours

Man, talk about busy. I have been swamped this week with more to come. Better too busy than not.

Last night I did a solo run down my street. I didn’t feel so hot but it was nice to get out for a bit… even in the dark. I definitely need to do this a bit more to get used to keeping a steady pace. I felt great on the way down but once I turned around, felt worse and worse. They say there is no such thing as a bad run and this, I have come to believe is true. You learn something every time out.

Today, Rach and I went for a hike in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was a beautiful night to be out: birds singing, cool temperatures. We hiked up to the old homestead and then back the same way. This is definitely a favorite trail… not great for running but an awesome hike.

Tomorrow, I have work stuff to do in the morning and then plan to go for a ride. Saturday, however is another story as I plan to either run High Lonesome or head to Leadville and run the route over Sugarloaf. Any takers?

Movie moment: Last night, we watched Hoot. Not so good. Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorites and the book was fun in a kid’s book kind of way but the movie left much to be desired. I’d skip it.

~stubert

Edit: Ooh! I totally forgot to mention this. Rach and I had to head to Boulder on Wednesday to pick up her car and we saw three moose cavorting in a pond near our house. I had heard that moose had been spotted in the area but had not seen any to date. There were a bunch of people pulled over to watch the trio swim and splash in the small pond just off the Peak to Peak (Kelly Dahl, I believe). Rach loves to watch animals drink and was treated to some serious guzzling action as the moose dunked their heads completely under water to drink. Pretty cool!

Just a tiny bit lost…

The clearest way to the Universe is through a forest wilderness. ~ John Muir

Yesterday: Run, Raccoon Popsicle, 2 hours
Today: Off (workin’)
Tomorrow: Run, ???, 3 hours

Man, I am swamped. This is a good thing for sure but I am way busier than I thought I would be at this juncture. Things are going well.

Yesterday, I made the mistake of going for an exploratory run prior to a conference call. What I thought would be an hour and a half quickly turned into two as I got lost on the trails around my house. I used to run and ride up here all the time but it has been awhile since I navigated these particular trails. There is a huge network of trails in this area, most of which are old mining roads. They criss-cross the landscape indiscriminately and taking the wrong one is fairly easy to accomplish.

I ran at a steady pace from my house up to Golden Gate Canyon State Park where I spun a lap on Raccoon Trail. It was warm for up here – upper 80s – but I felt fine as I ran the first hour or so. I had a little time to burn and decided to take an alternate route home. I quickly got a bit lost and found myself having to backtrack then do a heinous poach through someone’s back yard to get back home in time for my call. Plus, I had to run a lot faster on the way back than I planned but made it with a few minutes to spare. Good stuff.

Today was spent working and attending meetings. It was good to take a day off and to set things up for work over the coming weeks. Tomorrow’s plan is a bit up in the air right now but I’ll be out there and so should you. Tell your boss I said it was okay to take the day off.

~stubert.

Front Range Five…


The person who doesn’t scatter the morning dew will not comb gray hairs. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Yesterday: Run – Front Range Five, 5 hours
Today: Ride – Casa del Critters, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Run

Yesterday was a blast. My alarm went off at 3:45, rousing me to start what would be a long but fruitful day. Luke and I met at the Sanitas trailhead at 5, gathered our things and headed up what would be the first of five summits that day. Our goal had more to do with refining technique and honing our endurance than setting any speed records and we moved at a modest pace through the Sanitas Valley in the early daybreak. Mule deer dotted both sides of the well-traveled path as we moved up above Dakota Ridge and watched the sun rise over the eastern plains. We summited roughly on schedule and quickly descended via the western trail back to our cars where we grabbed our packs and headed south toward Flagstaff, peak two. (Sanitas summit was not documented with photos.)

As the sun began its rise higher in the east, we moved past the red rock formations that make up Boulder’s west side and down into Eben G. Fine park. We were moving smoothly, though it was not even 6:00 and quickly made our way up the Flagstaff trail. After a brief stop at the Filthiest Bathroom in Scotland (what is wrong with people?), we continued our climb upward and summited Flagstaff Mountain shortly thereafter. Peak two down, three to go.

We traveled around the western side of Flagstaff and to the Ranger Trail trailhead where we began our ascent of Green Mountain. Green features an interesting, steady climb interspersed with steeper staircase sections that can really test your fitness. Fortunately, our goal today was not to push the fitness levels per se but to keep a steady pace throughout our effort so we hiked most of Green. We started to see heavier traffic on our ascent and were met by several short-range runners who were clearly very fit. It is not uncommon to see World class athletes training on the trails and roads around Boulder county. There are some really strong athletes in this area but we were also greeted by several groups of people who were not elite competitors out for an early morning hike. Some people’s commitment to the outdoors makes up for the neglect of others (see paragraph 2). We summited Green on schedule, stayed a few minutes to enjoy the view, then started back down to the saddle where we would tackle Bear Peak. Two more to go.

To get to the Bear Peak trail, one descends from the saddle of Green to the south for about 15 minutes (max). This is one of my favorite places in the Flatirons. This portion of the trail system doesn’t see a lot of traffic and features rolling trails through pine forests that then dump out to beautiful green meadows and a small stream across which the trail meanders. Luke and I ran quickly down this section to the Bear peak trail where we turned back south and headed uphill for the toughest climb of the day. The top third of Bear features a more exposed, alpine-style summit than any of the other peaks we would stand atop this day. We met a few other hiker/runners at the top of Bear and enjoyed the views of both the front and back ranges from the top of Bear. If you have not made the effort to summit this peak, I highly recommend it. And then there was one.

South Boulder peak is the tallest of the peaks we would climb on this day though its summit is less interesting than Bear. We wound our way down the west side of Bear to the saddle between the two peaks. From this junction (where Shadow Canyon trail meets the one on which we traveled), we continued upward to the South Boulder Peak summit. Mission accomplished. We returned to Shadow Canyon trail and quickly descended past a surprisingly large number of hikers to Mesa Trail, headed north briefly to Big Blue Stem and down to the South Mesa Trail trailhead where we were met by Megan to shuttle us back to our cars at Sanitas. Five hours on the nose.

View the full album here.

The remainder of the day was spent working and napping then I met up with a good chunk of the crew at Megan’s parents’ house in Gold Hill for a bar-b-que. When I got home, I helped Rach scrape wax out of Rock Shot’s ears. Good times.

Today I plan to go for a short ride (better get on that) and tomorrow, it looks like I have scheduled the day off. I was planning to do some back-to-back long runs but may just stick with alternating running and riding from here on out to avoid any injuries. I think I will be bagging the super-long run as well and will opt for a 40-miler as my longest run prior to Leadville.

Movie time: Last night I actually watched a movie as well. Go figure. The Yes Men is a documentary that follows the exploits of a group of satirists who find themselves in the unlikely position of representing the WTO at a number of conferences and news events. I found the most interesting piece of the film to be the reactions (or lack thereof) they received from those entrenched in the business world. Only the college students to whom they lectured in one scene called them on any of their bs. Very interesting how people conform and accept that which is clearly wrong when their livelihood is on the line. I can’t say that I haven’t been guilty of this as well and this film was a clear illustration of the corruptive effect the desire to keep one’s job/please one’s boss/not look stupid in front of one’s contemporaries can be. It would benefit us all to retain some of that college-age mentality from time to time.

Fight the good fight.

~stubert

LIfe in the mountains…

Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime. ~ The Jamies

Yesterday: Run – Habitrail, 1 hour 20 minutes
Today: Singlespeed ride – Casa del Critters, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Run – Front Range Five, 5 hours

Have I mentioned recently how much I enjoy living up here? Summer is upon us… more so in some places than others. While it swelters in the valley, up in the mountains we are treated with near perfect conditions. Cool nights, warm, but tolerable days. Just wonderful. I feel a pang of sorrow when I see the snows shrinking on the mountaintops but know that come October, they will begin to load up anew.

Things are going well working from home. I got a lot of work done yesterday and have been working most of the day today. I spoke with a client about expanding my services to help their business and will be setting up a meeting soon to discuss the details of that endeavor. Luke has a lot of work coming in too so I am confident that I can make this work. Good times.

Luke and I went on a mellow run yesterday evening on the trail system West of Nederland. This was originally a bike trail that was put in several years ago and dubbed “The Habitrail” as it resembles those cool tunnel systems one can build out for their hamsters. It winds around the woods and used to have several technical obstacles along the way that have since been disassembled for some reason. It was a gorgeous night – perfect weather, really – and our pace was such that we were able to review some business stuff, go over Leadville strategy and enjoy the scenery without getting too worn out.

Tomorrow, we are planning an early start in Boulder on the Front Range Five. This will be a run/hike over the five main summits that make up the main peaks along the foothills west of Boulder: Sanitas, Flagstaff, Green, Bear and South Boulder Peaks. This should be about a 5-hour run but might be a little shorter depending upon how things go. We’ll head out at 5:00 am, starting up Sanitas from 4th Street. Feel free to join in the fun and/or games if you are interested.

See you out there.

~stubert